Apple Sued Over Limited iPhone Battery Life

The success of Apple can be seen in the figures reporting 450,000 iPhones sold within its first two days of sales. For one consumer though, Apple has left out a major drawback of the iPhone: the limited battery life.

Jose Trujillo is suing Apple, claiming that the company neglected to inform users of the limited life of the iPhone battery or that replacement batteries cost $86 each. (Source: iht.com)

Trujillo has filed his case in Illinois state court, accusing Apple of consumer fraud. Trujillo also hopes for class-action status in addition to subsequent monetary damages. Larry Drury, Trujillo's attorney, claims that the matter is a "nondisclosure issue" because Apple failed to reveal the nature of the battery replacement program until after the iPhone went on sale to the public. (Source: iht.com)

After purchasing his iPhone, Trujillo noticed that the device was sealed with its battery soldered on the inside so it could not be charged by the owner. According to the filed report, the iPhone battery can only be recharged about 300 times before needing a replacement. (Source: macnn.com)

Apple has countered this argument on their website, claiming that the iPhone battery will retain over 80 per cent of its original capacity after 400 full charges.

iPhone users must pay $79, plus shipping and handling, to send away for a battery replacement. An extra $29 is demanded if the user wants the company to provide a temporary phone during the three days needed to complete the procedure.

According to Trujillo, the policy is downright deceptive.

Apple shares on the New York Stock Exchange plummeted almost 7 percent when the news of the lawsuit was first released. Some investors have decided to sell their shares in Apple because they expect a slowdown period to begin very shortly.

According to industry analysts, Apple is expected to cut down production of iPod music players and iPhones by as much as 50 percent in the coming weeks. (Source: iht.com)